


Green Man, Horned God

by usedupshiver



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Teenage Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 14:31:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2696429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usedupshiver/pseuds/usedupshiver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forced to spend a long summer away from civilisation Tony is expecting to die of boredom sooner rather than later. Instead, he ends up spending the summer months befriending something he never knew existed, but something that has always kept an eye on him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green Man, Horned God

**Author's Note:**

  * For [plumadesatada](https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumadesatada/gifts).



> Because Abyss made me do it. <3

There was only one thing Tony hated more than crying, and that was someone seeing him do it. Even as a kid he had preferred to run away and hide rather than seek comfort or consolation when he felt himself tearing up. But really, where was he supposed to have gotten any of those? His parents? Yeah, right...

At fifteen, most people might still consider him a kid, but you should only tell him that to his face if you were okay with losing some teeth. But even though he was taller (at least a bit; he would never be a basketball player, that was obvious) and had a lot more hair in a lot more places than he'd had before, one thing hadn't changed – he still hated crying. And if he had to do it, if he couldn't hold it back, then he did it alone.

The place he went to cry was also the same. He would sneak out of the house by the back door, and run into the woods. There he had more hideaways than he knew what to do with, and he always found one that felt right. Today that was a wide circle of huge bushes, where it was impossible to make out from the outside that it was actually a circle. It looked like a dense, impenetrable wall of branches and leaves, but Tony knew the right place to crawl under them and find a way in. In the middle of it the ground was always dry, protected by the branches meeting above, and soft and warm from the dry leaves covering it.

Safe, alone, Tony sat down and pulled his knees to his chest, got his arms around his legs, and finally let go of the tears he had been holding back.

”Fuck.” It was a wet muttering into the warm space of his curled up body. He didn't even have the energy to put any real vehemence into it; it was pointless anyway. After trying to convince his father to let him stay at school over summer, trying so damn hard, he had used up all his stubborn arguments and still failed. 

So now he was here, back ”home”, for nearly three long, boring, lonely fucking months. Yeah, sure, he would have been lonely at school too, but he could have done things there. What did he have to occupy himself with here? Making animals out of sticks and pinecones?

”Fuck!” Tony raised his head from his knees and rubbed away some tears with the back of his hand. He blinked away the wetness sticking his eyelashes together and stared in front of him. This summer was going to suck so much, and there was nothing he could do about it.

While he sat there, staring into the bushes, he realized there was something in the configuration of the leaves that pulled his eyes. Somthing that made his brain react with recogition in an odd way. Tony blinked again, and tried to focus his eyes.

It was a face. Tony could have _sworn_ it was a face. 

Sure, it was made out of leaves that shaped the bridge of a long nose, the hollows of cheeks, a furrowed brow that almost looked worried, and dew was shining where eyes should be, reflecting green and gold so it was like the face was looking right back at him. But it was a face none the less. When Tony felt his mouth drop open at the sight, the dewdrop eyes closed, quickly, like an anemone pulling back its tentacles at a hint of danger. 

Then one eye opened again, slowly, saw that he was still looking, and then.... it _winked_ at him.

With a gasp, Tony edged back over the dry, crumbling leaves until his back was against the branches on the other side of the little hollow and he was stopped from moving further away.

In front of him both the shining eyes opened to watch him. Then the softly curved leaves shaping the lips of the green face moved. ”You were crying”, a voice said, one made of windwhispers and leafrustles. ”Why?”

That quickly replaced the shock with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Tony felt a heated blush on his face, glaring at the leafy face. ”You were _watching_ me? What the hell?! I came here to be alone!”

”I have seen you cry many times.” The face tilted to the side, the leaves sliding over each other to follow the movement. ”Since you were much smaller.”

Tony was still trying to process this new information when the face started moving for real. And turned into something other than just a face, when the leaves interlocked and curved to outline shoulders and a chest under them.

It pulled free of the bushes completely, and when it did the leaves smoothed out and shifted in colour, turning to pale, perfect skin. From the high forehead they turned to a ripple of black hair. From the long neck down the thing stayed covered in leaves though, and Tony was pretty happy about that. Bad enough it had watched him cry, a bunch of times. He didn't want to have to see it naked on top of all the awkward. The leaves formed a long, sweeping robe, but Tony could still make out wide shoulders and a narrow waist and guessed the thing was male. A carved, polished semicircle of wood clasped the garment closed over the chest and bracers of the same sort of material covered the long forearms, but other than that, it was all dressed in leaves and what looked like vowen grass.

The person, creature, whatever, took the few steps up to where Tony was still pressing his back into the sharp branches. There it stopped, lifted the front of its garment a bit to show long, pale but completely human looking feet, and then sank so its knees in a smooth movement.

”You shouldn't be crying.” The words were a little bit less ethereal now, and more of an actual voice.

Tony frowned. ”And why's that?”

”You are far too pretty to be crying.” Long fingers moved to touch his still wet cheek, and Tony was too shocked to move away.

Inside, he was reeling between some kind of warmth at the flattery, and a budding male pride refusing it, because really... ”I'm not pretty! _Girls_ are pretty, I'm a guy! I'm... ruggedly handsome!”

The green man raised a black eyebrow, not looking the least bit convinced. At least he didn't protest it.

”I would still rather you didn't cry.” The fingers on his cheek wiped the last tears away and then pulled back, so the man could rest both hands on his thighs.

”Yeah, me too, I guess, but you don't always get to choose things like that.”

”Well, if I have a say, I will not let you cry again.”

Tony blinked up at the man. ”Why do you care about if I cry or not?”

The leafcovered shoulders moved in a shrug. ”I feel sad when you do.”

”Uh-huh?” Tony wasn't sure what to make of that. ”Who are you? And why are you here, hiding in the bushes?”

”I don't hide; I live here.” The green man smiled. ”You may call me Loki. It's not all of my name, but it is enough.”

”All right then... You can call me Tony. That's not all of it either, so I guess we're even.”

”Very well, Tony, I am happy to see you. Now that you are no longer crying.”

”Yeah, okay.” Tony squirmed a bit against the branches, uncomfortable under the intense, green eyes. ”But I need to go back home now, soooo... If you'd let me out of here, that'd be great.”

”Of course.” The green man – Loki – leaned back and got back on his feet, backing up. He made a gesture to the place where Tony had crawled in under the bushes. ”You are welcome back, whenever you wish.”

Without giving an answer Tony got down and quickly dragged himself out of the hidingplace. Then he got on his feet, and ran.

Come back there? Like hell!

* * *

It took two days before he came sneaking back to the circle of bushes, half expecting it all to turn out to be a dream.

But when he came closer, he found Loki there again. Even though he wasn't really sure it was him at first. He remembered the green man he had met there before, the one dressed in leaves and carved wood, and this person was very different. He was dressed in something obviously more suited to move around the forest. He was still barefoot, but his very, very long legs were covered in supple brown leather pants and the tunic he was wearing was still green, but it seemed made of some sort of fabric and not leaves. Linen, perhaps? Mistletoe was embroidered along the hem of it.

Tony took a guess that the robe had been some sort of more formal outfit.

But the clothes weren't the only thing different about Loki this time. The other thing – the really fucking _weird_ thing – was that today, he had horns. Or maybe antlers was more the correct word? Tony didn't know that much about the technicalities of horns. At least they looked like something you might see on a deer, about as long as Tony's forearm and pronged and sharp, sticking up out of his hair like there was nothing strange about that what so ever.

Tony hesitated a bit at the sight of them, but then his curiosity got the better of him and he walked all the way up to Loki anyway. The green man, who was now the horned man, smiled widely down at him when he got there, and Tony found himself returning the smile even though he didn't know why. Maybe because people very rarely were happy to see him.

”You have horns.”

”I do?” Loki tilted his head forward, angling his green eyes up as if he was trying to see them himself. Reminding him somehow of a cat trying to catch his own tail.

Suddenly Tony was laughing, for the first time in longer than he could really remember. ”Yeah, you do. Why do you have horns?”

The horned man straightened and settled his eyes on Tony again. ”Because I feel like it.”

”Well, I guess that's a good answer.”

”The best.”

Tony looked up at him, and then shrugged. ”So. I'm back. Now what?”

”Now I show you the forest, I think.”

”Ooookay?” Tony frowned. ”I'm not much of a hiking kind of guy though, just so you know.”

”No need to worry about sore feet.” 

With a grin Loki took a few steps back away from him. Before Tony could ask what he was doing now, the tall man just shook himself, shimmered green, and then he was gone. In his place there was a huge, dark golden buck with a wide rack of antlers nothing like the small ones he'd had before. Just the green eyes were somehow the same, but bigger, round and surronded by long, sweeping lashes.

”Holy _shit_...” Tony breathed out the words, staring. Even though he had seen Loki shift out of leaves before, met him with horns on his head today, this was something else. Still, he wasn't scared. Just fascinated.

The buck stepped up to him on light, cloven feet and then elegantly bent its closest knee.

”You... want me to... ride you?”

The horned head turned, a green eye met his, and the long neck bent gently in what had to be a nod.

”Well... All right.” Tony cleared his throat and stepped a bit closer, raising a hand to place it on the buck's withers, gripping the longer fur there. ”But if I fall and break my neck it's all your fault.”

A soft, rumbling sound came from the buck and Tony had a feeling that it was what passed for laughter from Loki in this shape. Smiling again he pulled himself up, threw a leg over the suprisingly wide and strong back, and gripped the long fur in both hands. The buck gave one last snort, and shook his head. It made his long, soft ears flap in a way that Tony found oddly adorable.

Then he didn't have time to think anything else before the buck moved into a long, smooth leap that nearly made Tony lose his balance and roll off the animals back immediately. In the last second he managed to lean forward instead, throwing his arms around the long, swaying neck in front of him. The new postition made him see the green ground fly by beneath them, startlingly fast. He stayed clinging to that neck for a while, until he felt that the movements under him were actually really soft and rolling, not jarring at all. Swallowing, making himself breathe again, he made himself get a better grip on the ribs under him with his legs, moved his hands back up to the long fur, and slowly sat up a little straighter. Still leaning forward, but now following along with the buck's leaps in a more controlled way, he could start looking around him.

And then Loki really showed him the forest.

On sure feet he climbed rocky hills to show Tony the wide views. 

He waded through bogs and small lakes, one deep enough that Tony had to pull his feet up not to get them wet. But it was worth it, because the surface around them was covered in deep red water lilies and it was the most beautiful place Tony had ever seen.

They met a brown bear with her two cubs and Tony felt like he was going to wet his pants because seriously? Even he knew you don't mess with a mother bear. But the bear just stopped and stared, and Loki stopped to stare right back. Then the bear rumbled something that made her cubs come running, and then they all disappeared among the trees.

Huh? Weird.

The quiet way Loki stepped through the forest made it possible for them to get close to all manner of wildlife, really. They saw deer and elk, listened to ravens cawing in the treetops, and they even met a pack of wolves gathered around the bloody carcass of something they were busy eating.

Again Tony thought they were in trouble. But when Loki stepped into the clearing the largest of the wolves, probably an alpha, turned to watch them, just like the bear had done. Loki watched back, and then turned to walk away and leave them alone. Even though Tony had the strangest feeling that it was because he chose to do so, that if he had wanted to Loki could have just as easily moved forward and chased the predators off, made them leave their fresh kill behind.

Weird. Really weird.

Why was he getting the feeling that Loki was sort of... important?

They only returned to a place where Tony could find his way back home when it was starting to get dark. He could hardly stand when he slid off Loki's back, his legs were so tired, and he just got his arms around the buck's neck, buried his face in the golden fur and stood like that for a while.

”Thanks”, he mumbled into the warm neck. ”That was great.”

He slowly let go and backed away. Loki gave him a slow wink with one huge, green eye and then turned and disappeared between the trees in long leaps, obviously not tired at all.

Tony slept better that night than he had done in a really long time.

* * *

It became a daily routine to wake up early, eat breakfast, and then run out into the forest as soon as he was done. No-one asked where he went or what he was doing, so he didn't even have to make up excuses.

They explored the forest, they walked, they talked, they played. The summer Tony had thought would suck suddenly didn't. At all. Because he had found something he had never had before in his life – a friend.

Even though it was a friend he didn't really know much about. Not even how old Loki was. At a glance he could be anything from twenty to thirty, perhaps, but then again he wasn't strictly speaking human, and Tony didn't know what to make of that. It seemed to depend a bit on Loki's mood how old he appeared, too. When he was serious or thoughtful, he looked older and more mature, but when he was happy and laughing and playful he sometimes seemed even younger than Tony himself. Although he was of course a hell of a lot taller...

But knowing stuff about someone wasn't that important, Tony decided. What was important was that they had fun. And knowledge aside, he still trusted Loki to keep him safe out in the wilderness.

As it turned out, the trust was mutual.

They were just walking through the forest one lazy day when the sky above the treetops just... exploded. Or at least, that was what it felt like. With a shout swallowed up by the _**BOOM!**_ above them Tony threw his hands over his head before his mind kicked in and he understood what had happened. His heart was still nearly beating out of his chest when he got his arms down. 

Around him, the forest was completely quiet. Every single bird had been scared silent. Of course, they didn't know what it sounded like when a plane happens to break the sound barrier right over your head, and even if Tony knew, he'd still nearly soiled his pants, hadn't he? Hard to fault the birds.

And maybe not just the birds, come to think of it... Tony turned to see how Loki had reacted – and found himself alone. He blinked. ”Loki?”

Nothing.

”Loki?” A little louder. ”Where'd you go?”

Still no answer, but he thought he saw a movement this time, under some large ferns.

”Hey, buddy? Are you hiding?” 

Tony slowly walked closer but stopped a few steps away, got down on hands and knees in the grass and looked in under the leaves. He could only just make out the shape of a large hare curled up in the shadows, its long ears flat over its back. It was dark brown, nearly black, but the wide eyes were green, and Tony knew he'd found who he was looking for. Even from this distance, he could see Loki tremble. Of course Loki wouldn't have known what that horrible noise was, and he was obviously terrified.

”No, Loki, it's okay”, he murmured, soothing. ”It was just a plane flying by. It's long gone now, though. Nothing to worry about. Promise.”

Slowly, hesitantly, the hare moved out from its hidingplace. It looked around, ears still back, and then made some careful, lolloping steps up to Tony. The wide eyes were still frightened, but the long ears gradually came up.

”Yeah, that's it.” Tony smiled. ”You're all right.”

And then the large hare came even closer, putting its front paws on Tony's thighs. He leaned back, making room, and it climbed into his lap. But then it didn't stop there, but got up on its long, strong hind legs so that the claws were digging into Tony's jeans. It put its front paws by his shoulder and snuggled its furry, still trembling little head by his neck.

Without thinking twice about it, Tony carefully put his arms around the frightened thing and held it to his chest. It was warm, and just a mess of tense muscles. He ran his fingers over the long, lean back, hushing and mumbling some soothing nonsense, until the hare started relaxing against him.

The creature that could stare down protective mother bears and a pack of wolves had been scared out of his mind by a passing jet. And he'd come to Tony for comfort.

It felt strangely good.

* * *

The thing with the plane marked a kind of change in their relationship. Aside from their mutual trust being more obvious, the change had a physical manifestation too.

After Loki seeking comfort in Tony's arms and being shown he was welcome, he didn't hesitate to do the same even when he wasn't something small, furry and frightened. When that boundary was once crossed, it turned out Loki was a natural hugger. He had never been afraid of physical contact before either, but now it was different. Whenever he felt like it, he would just wrap his long arms around Tony and hold on to him. 

This was new to Tony. He didn't have a lot of experience with being hugged. People didn't do that in his family, and he had never had the kind of friends who hugged before. But that didn't mean that he didn't want it now. The opposite, actually.

He would have liked to see who could have been able to resist Loki's special brand of hugs, though. They were something. Long and warm and tight, and all of him was engaged in it. Not just his body, but his mind and heart too. The entire world was put on hold for those moments when the only thing really important was that comforting closeness.

This new turn in their relationship, this new... well, intimacy. Sort of. It had a paradoxal effect on Tony. On the one hand he felt even more than ever that he didn't need to know anything about Loki to know that he liked him and trusted him. On the other hand he also felt that he now would dare to ask, if he wanted to. If he wanted to find out some of his new friend's secrets. And even if he didn't really _need_ to know, Tony was curious. Very. 

So maybe it was only fitting that it was during one of those long, warm hugs that Tony suddenly knew that he wanted to ask.

Pulling back just enough to see Loki, arms still around his back to return the hug, he asked before he could change his mind. ”Who are you, Loki?” Frowning he let his gaze wander from the antlers, over the pale face. ”Really?”

For a moment Loki looked frozen, even felt tense under Tony's hands, but then he relaxed again.

With a little sigh Loki straightened up, seemed to get even taller, looked him straight in the eyes and shifted into a new form, without even leaving Tony's lingering embrace. He was wearing the leafrobe of the green man again, but he still had the antlers, only now they were wider and heavier and gleaming gold. In Tony's eyes he suddenly wasn't the green man anymore, or a man at all. He looked more like a god.

”I am the king of this forest, and everything in it.” There was a new note in the soft voice, something... yeah, regal.

Tony swallowed. All right, he had sort of figured out that Loki was someone important and special, but this was a little bit more than he had expected even so.

”That mean you're my king too? I'm in the forest now, after all.”

Loki smiled at that and shook his head. ”You are a visitor in my realm, not one of my subjects. You are free to come and go as you please.”

”Thanks? I guess?”

Lifting a hand to ruffle his hair Loki shifted back into his usual form, leather-and-linen outfit, smaller antlers in the tangled hair. He said nothing, just smiled wider.

Tony, who still had his arms around his back, grabbed the linen tunic in his hands and pulled a bit at it. ”Can you change into anything?”

”Anything living in my kingdom”, Loki confirmed with a nod.

”Even a tree?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

Laughing, Loki nodded again. ”It's rather dull, however. I prefer the buck. Or the wolf.”

”Wolf? I've never seen you -”

In the middle of the sentence Loki flared green, and then Tony had his arms around a huge, black wolf, its paws on his shoulders. Only for a second though, then the wolf drew back and landed on all fours, sinking down with its chest to the ground, tail high and wagging. Even if that hadn't been enough of a sign, the glint in the green eyes would have told Tony what Loki was saying: _play with me!_

”Ha!” Tony spun on his heel and ran. ”You have to catch me first!”

He got about three steps before the wolf was beside him, teeth catching the cloth of his jeans by his right foot and pulling him off balance. With a shout he fell over and the wolf, unable to stop that fast, rushed by him. Tony shot back up and ran in the opposite direction. Grinning like a maniac and panting.

The wolf hit his knees from behind, knocking him over and sending him rolling and tumbling away over the grass, but he landed softly and laughing. Scrambling to his knees he was just moving to get back on his feet when a growl made him look up, straight into that dark, triangular face and the bright green eyes. Tony didn't even have time to react before the wolf was on him, tipping him completely gracelessly on his back and pinning his with huge, heavy paws on his chest. He stayed really, really still there, watching white fangs flash behind a black, snarling lip.

_Holy shit..._

He had gotten so used to thinking of Loki as something gentle and harmless, but this was nothing like that. No, this was something wild and feral and he could even _smell_ the wildness on the bristling fur. The green eyes were the same as always, but did that really mean he could trust his friend in this shape?

Tony had never pictured that he might die ripped apart by a wolf, but he was starting to do so now. Pretty vividly, too.

”Loki?” He kept his voice a whisper. ”I yield, okay?” To reinforce the meaning of the words he relaxed, letting his hands fall open on the grass above his head where they had been clenched into fists.

Tony wasn't even sure if he had expected some kind of response to this, but he got one. Immediately the snarl softened, the jaw in front of him fell open and a very long, red tongue lolled out in something that just had to be a wolfish sort of grin. He got the strong impression that the wolf had just waited for the surrender. But before he'd had the chance to really feel any relief, the open mouth came down to his face and he tensed in anticipation of burning, ripping pain and wanted to fight but then... there was no pain. At all. There was, however, that tongue lapping at the corner of his mouth, up over his cheek, to his ear, and then back to his nose and lips. It was hot and raspy and really wet.

”Dude!” Tony angled his head away from the slobbery onslaught and got his hands up to grab the thick fur around the wolf's head. ”Did nobody ever teach you how to give proper kisses?” Eyes shut tight, he pulled one hand back when he had apparently made the wolf back off at least a bit, and rubbed a sleeve over his wet face. ”Just a hint? That isn't how you do it.”

While he was still speaking the last words he felt the fur in his hand change into something longer and softer and silkier, and when he dropped the other arm from his now dry face he wasn't surprised to find the wolf gone, and Loki kneeling over him instead. Back in his leather-and-linen outfit, complete with dark golden antlers in his hair, but the wide smile on his face was very similar to the wolf, still.

”Is this how?” Loki's voice was as silky as his hair. Then he made the same move the wolf had done, leaned in and got himself close to Tony's face.

The first kiss landed in the same place the wolf's tongue had, at the corner of his mouth. It was just as hot, but the lips were smooth and soft and not nearly as wet, just leaving behind a damp spot that felt a bit like it was tingling. When Tony turned his head to look up at the face above his, it made the next kiss hit him full on the lips instead. Surprise made him pull in a little sharp breath through his nose, eyes going wide. Loki's were closed, his face so close now that Tony couldn't focus on it. So then Tony just let his slide shut too, and felt those lips fit themselves to his, shifting with them, before they pulled away and a waft of hot breath made him feel that they were wetter than they had been.

Blinking his eyes back open Tony saw that Loki had pulled back a bit now, so he could see his pale face clearly. The smile was back in place.

”Yeah”, he murmured, voice catching and hoarse, ”that's pretty much how you do it.”

”Good.” Loki grinned. Then he reached out and grabbed Tony's hands, rolling back up on his feet and pulling Tony with him in the movement. ”Come!” One of his hands still held on to one of Tony's as he walked away with long strides. ”The day is still long. I want to go exploring!”

Watching the tall, lithe figure moving in front of him Tony suddenly had a feeling that he wanted to go exploring too. But in a completely different way.

* * *

The next day, when he was finishing his usual, quick breakfast, he saw a note on the table, folded and with his name written on it. Frowning, he opened the note and read the few, short words.

Three minutes later he was running into the forest, faster than he had in weeks. He realized that without him ever noticing, the leaves had started to turn gold and red around him. Now that made him want to scream.

”Loki!” He called out as soon as he was out of sight from the house. The note of panic was clear in his voice, even to himself, and he wasn't surprised when Loki appeared behind a tree almost immediately. Before the horned man had even had time to speak, Tony threw himself in his arms.

”Loki! Listen!” He looked up at the bewildered, worried face. ”You need to come with me today. I can't go exploring with you anymore. You have to come with me instead, when I go back to school.”

”School?” Loki looked even more confused. ”Where is that?”

”Far away. In a city... And...” Even as he was speaking the words, and saw Loki's face fall, Tony knew the answer he would get.

”I can't do that, Tony.” Loki slowly shook his horned head, his brow a knot of sadness and pain. ”This forest is my realm, my domain and my kingdom. I can never leave it and live, and it can't live without me.” The long hands came to rest around his neck, thumbs running over his cheeks. ”I wish I could.”

Tony felt tears sting his eyes, and for the first time in his life he didn't hesitate to let them fall. For the first time in his life they weren't just tears for himself. ”My parents are leaving tonight, and taking me with them, and I _can't_...” He nearly choked. ”I can't leave without you!” 

”I don't want you to.” The distress was obvious on Loki's face. ”But I can't go with you. I am so sorry.”

Tony's knees just buckled then and he fell down on the ground. What he had thought would be the worst summer of his life had turned into the best one ever, and now he had to leave. Alone. Leave not just the house and the forest, but his first and only friend.

Loki fell on his knees in front of Tony then, so close that he had Tonys legs between his own spread thighs. ”Please, don't cry”, he murmured as he put his arms around the boy, pulling him closer. ”I said I wouldn't let you cry again.”

The words just made the silently running tears turn into fullbodied sobs as Tony shot up on his knees, throwing his arms around Loki's neck. The once so alien scents of leather and dry leaves and green were now familiar and _safe_ and made his heart hurt even more. He clung to that strong neck, buried his wet face in the black hair, and heard Loki making shushing noises by his ear.

”I... won't... leave... you!” Tony choked the words out between sobs and wet breaths and sniffles.

”You don't have to, Tony.” He felt the words as much as he heard then, Loki's hands held him so close. ”You can stay.”

”No, I... can't!” Rubbing his face harder against the silky tresses. ”I told you! My parents are... leaving tonight. And I have to... go with them!” He managed to catch his breath a bit. ”I can't stay here alone. They'd never let me!”

”That was not what I meant.” Loki let go of him, reached back to catch his wrists and pull them off his neck. But he wasn't pushing Tony away, he held his hands and forearms to his chest instead, looking into Tony's face. ”You can stay here. With _me_.”

Sniffing, frowning, Tony blinked back up at him. He could feel tears clinging to his eyelashes, but somehow he didn't mind. ”What? In the forest?”

”Yes.” A small smile on the pale lips. ”And no. The forest is only one part of my realm. The other part lies beyond.”

 _Beyond._ Tony had a really strong feeling that this didn't mean something like 'five miles down the road' or anything like that. He swallowed. ”And I can come there with you?”

Loki nodded, his face turning very serious. ”You can.” He let go of Tony's wrists with one hand to cup his wet face, where the tears were at least not running anymore, the sobs had stopped. ”But think on this, carefully, because if you do go there with me, you can never come back. You will have to stay there, with me. Forever.”

”Yeah, well, I'm human you know.” Tony shrugged and turned his head into that long, cool hand. ”Forever isn't really that long for us.”

The fingers moved to catch his jaw and turn his head back to meet Loki's eyes, suddenly dark and grave. ”If you come, you won't be human anymore, Tony. That is what I'm telling you. To pass over, you have to leave humanity behind. And the mortality that goes with it.”

 _Forever_ really meant forever. 

Tony felt his mouth drop open but couldn's stop himself from looking stupid. Well, he'd already cried his damn eyes out, so maybe this wasn't worse. He tried to wrap his mind around this offer, he really did, but he couldn't get the concept, not exactly. Forever had never been a plan for him. But did he need to think about it that carefully? Could he?

While he waited for Tony's answer Loki's green eyes looked almost as bright and liquid as they had done when they had been just dewdrops on leaves. His mouth tensed and twisted and moved as if he wanted to say something but held it back, whatever it was. The hopeful/fearful/hopeful glow in his eyes said it all, though.

In a determined move Tony slid his hands back up to the back of Loki's neck, grabbing his hair, and reached up to press his lips to the pale, thin ones above him. At first Loki seemed almost stunned, then the long arms were around him, holding him, and the lips under his turned soft and welcoming.

”I want to come with you”, Tony said when he let go enough to talk.

Laughing, Loki pulled him all the way up off the grass, almost up in his lap. He held Tony as hard as he dared, rocking him gently, still breathing his laugh in his ear, turning to words. ”Thank you!”

Then Loki put Tony back down on the ground, sitting on his ass this time. Loki himself knelt down by his feet and slowly unlaced Tony's shoes, pulled them off, and then the socks, stuffing them back in the shoes he had placed to the side in a strangely neat way. When he had Tony's bare feet resting in his lap he looked back up at the boy's face.

”You are sure you want this?”

The thing with getting his feet undressed had thrown Tony for a bit of a loop, he had to admit that, but he he knew what the question was about. So he nodded. ”I want to stay with you, Loki. Forever.”

Loki gave him a smile. It started slow, as if he didn't dare commit to it, then it grew wider and whiter and joyous. And then he leaned down, lifted Tony's feet off his lap, and kissed them. Just very light feathertouches of kisses, one on the top of each foot. Tony had a feeling he should somehow be embarrassed by the weird intimacy of it, but he wasn't. Maybe because the gesture was surrounded by a strong sense of ritual. This meant something. Something important.

Then Loki put his feet back on the grass and reached a hand out to pull him up standing. Under his soles the wilting, damp and autumncold grass should have felt unpleasant. Instead it felt summersoft and sunwarmed. He blinked down at his feet as he dug his toes into the ground, seeing if the earth would be cold. It wasn't. So this was why Loki never had to bother with shoes, then...

He couldn't hold back a delighted peal of laughter. ”This is _awesome_!”

A soft snort made him look up, and he found that Loki had shifted into the golden buck again. The huge, green eyes still seemed to smile at him, before the king of the forest bowed his head, tilted his wide crown of horns forward, bent a knee, and asked Tony up on his back.

Tony didn't hesitate.

They were going exploring. And they were never coming back.

* * *

Tony was reported missing at midnight, when it was apparent that he wasn't coming back home. 

They started searching for him early the next morning. Police, volunteers, tracking dogs. On that first day, they found nothing.

The next day one of the dogs came across Tony's shoes and socks, but even when they concentrated the search to the area closest to the find, thinking he couldn't have gone far barefoot in the cold, they found nothing more.

They searched for over a week, even though they by the end of it were sure they were searching for a corpse rather than a lost boy.

They found nothing. Nothing at all. Not then, not ever.

As if Tony Stark had walked out into the forest and disappeared off the face of the earth.


End file.
